It has been more than two months since Nancy Guthrie went missing on February 1, 2026. The Pima County Sheriff’s Department and the FBI marked their 69th day searching for her on Wednesday, April 8.
Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos warned the public not to criticize his department, as he stands by the investigators handling the search for the 84-year-old mother of Savannah Guthrie.
During an interview with News 4 Tucson last week, Nanos said, “You cannot attack my department. Attack the Sheriff, but you will not get by with attacking my department.”
Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos is defending his investigators working the Nancy Guthrie case after questions surfaced about their experience level. https://t.co/K7dLenYYJp
— KVOA News 4 Tucson (@KVOA) April 4, 2026
Some reports have alleged that investigators made mistakes during the early stages of Guthrie’s disappearance, but Nanos pushed back against those claims.
He said, “Discrediting an investigation like this doesn’t help anything, it’s very harmful. No, we don’t believe there were any mistakes made.”
Moreover, Nanos fought back against accusations that the lead investigator on the case never investigated a homicide. He cited the sergeant’s track record as evidence.
He mentioned the sergeant has been the supervisor of homicide for over two years and has solved “some pretty significant, very high-profile cases for this area.”
The Sheriff also addressed reports calling for him to step down, and reminded Tucson that more than one union represents Pima County Sheriff’s deputies, and not all of them are opposed to him.
Nancy Guthrie Update: Former Sheriff Says Crime Scene Was ‘Corrupted’: A legal expert and former Pima County Sheriff has suggested the crime scene in the Nancy Guthrie investigation was corrupted.
The post Nancy Guthrie Update: Former Sheriff Says… https://t.co/vuJscrHhGq pic.twitter.com/Bqmc3DqfZD
— EntertainmentNow (@EntertnmentNow) April 9, 2026
Defending his department from criticism, Nanos said, “I’m not going to stand for it. These people work hard every day to keep our community safe.”
Throughout the interview, Nanos mentioned that he has full confidence in his team and aims to clarify the situation.
Interestingly, Grayce McCormick, Public Relations specialist at Lightfinder Public Relations, told The Express US that Nanos’ comments are troubling, and warned that they “risk eroding public trust”.
“The investigation’s messaging is muddled and risks eroding public trust,” McCormick told the outlet.
The expert added that there should be clarity of command in such high-profile investigations, and said that it is not about the sheriff running the case personally, but how clearly the department communicates who is in charge.
“Miscommunication and mixed messages damage public trust and invite unwarranted scrutiny about the investigation’s integrity. Savannah Guthrie’s public question about a motive tied to her profile adds to the narrative,” the Public Relations specialist mentioned.
She further said that if she had to advise Sheriff Nanos, she would “urge a clear communications reset”, which would mean explicitly outlining the chain of command, naming the lead investigator, and providing consistent updates that distinguish known facts from uncertainty.
During an interview with KVOI-AM, Nanos was asked if there’s anything he would have done differently during the investigation, and he said, “I wish there was something I could do differently that would have produced better results. But no, you know, I think we started off today by saying that I’m the lead investigator on this case.”
